Purpose: The purpose of this study was to define student learning capacity and to examine the role of the school principal in nurturing it. Method: The study used cross-sectional data from 3,175 students in 70 schools located in a metropolitan area of a Southwestern city. We tested three hypotheses by following a conventional modeling building process in HLM 7.0: Hypothesis 1—Principal Support for Student Psychological Needs (PSSPN) is related to school differences in student-perceived autonomy-support; Hypothesis 2—PSSPN is related to school differences in student-perceived competence-support; Hypothesis 3—Student-perceived need-support mediates the relationship between PSSPN and grit. Results: Evidence aligns with our initial theorizing about student learning capacity and principal support for student psychological needs. Student-perceived need-support, as a social characteristic of capacity, manifests itself through teacher–student interactions in the learning process. Need-supporting interactions varied significantly across schools, and principals played a critical role in developing an instructional environment that students experienced as nurturing autonomy and competence. Implications: PSSPN highlights the transformative effects that regular principal–teacher social exchanges can have on instructional practices. School principals who interacted with teachers about student psychological needs and need-supporting instructional practices contributed to a learning environment that students experienced as autonomy-supporting and competence-supporting.
AdamsC. M. (2013). Collective trust: A social indicator of instructional capacity. Journal of Educational Administration, 51(3), 1-36.
2.
AdamsC. M. (2014). Collective student trust: A social resource for urban elementary students. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50, 135-159.
3.
AdamsC. M.ForsythP. B.DollarhideE. A.MiskellR. C.WareJ. K. (2015). Self-regulatory climate: A social resource for student regulation and achievement. Teachers College Record, 117, 1-28.
4.
AdamsC. M.WareJ. K.MiskellR. C.ForsythP. B. (2016). Self-regulatory climate: A positive attribute of public schools. Journal of Educational Research, 109, 169-180.
5.
AndersonC.TurnerA.HeathR. D.PayneC. M (2016). On the meaning of grit . . . and . . . hope . . . and fate control . . . and alienation . . . and locus of control . . . and self-efficacy . . . and . . . effort optimism. Urban Review, 48, 198-219.
6.
AssorA.KaplanH.RothG. (2002). Choice is good, but relevance is excellent: Autonomy-enhancing and suppressing teacher behaviours predicting students’ engagement in school work. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72, 261-278.
7.
BaronB. M.KennyD. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
8.
BassB. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York, NY: Free Press.
9.
BorkoH. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3-15.
10.
BrownM. B.BolenL. M. (2011). School-based health centers. In LevesqueR. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of adolescence (pp. 2506-2512). New York, NY: Springer.
11.
BrykA. S.SebringP. B.AllenswothE.LupppescuS.EastonJ. Q. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
12.
ChirkovV. I.RyanR. M. (2001). Parent and teacher autonomy-support in Russian and US adolescents: Common effects on well-being and academic motivation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 618-635.
ConnellJ. P.WellbornJ. G. (1991). Competence, autonomy and relatedness: A motivational analysis of self-system processes. In GunnarM. R.SroufeL. A. (Eds.), The Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology: Self-processes in development (Vol. 23, pp. 43-77). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macro theory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49, 182-185.
17.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (2016). Optimizing students’ motivation in the era of testing and pressure: A self-determination theory perspective. In LiuW.WangJ.RyanR. M. (Eds.), Building autonomous learners (pp. 89-129). New York, NY: Springer.
18.
DeciE. L.SpiegelN. H.RyanR. M.KoestnerR.KauffmanM. (1982). Effects of performance standards on teaching behavior of controlling teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 852-859.
19.
DiPaolaM. F.Tschannen-MoranM. (2005). Bridging or buffering? The impact of schools’ adaptive strategies on student achievement. Journal of Educational Administration, 43, 60-71.
20.
DuckworthA. L. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. New York, NY: Scriber.
21.
DuckworthA. L.GrossJ. J. (2014). Self-control and grit related but separable determinants of success. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 319-325.
22.
DuckworthA. L.PetersonC.MatthewsM. D.KellyD. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 1087-1101.
23.
DuckworthA. L.QuinnP. D.SeligmanM. E. P. (2009). Positive predictors of teacher effectiveness. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 540-547.
24.
DweckC. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Ballantine.
Eskreis-WinklerL.ShulmanE. P.BealS. A.DuckworthA. L. (2014). The grit effect: Predicting retention in the military, the workplace, school and marriage. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 36.
27.
ForsythP.AdamsC. M.HoyW. (2011). Collective trust: Why schools can’t improve without it. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
28.
FortierM. S.VallerandR. J.GuayF. (1995). Academic motivation and school performance: Toward a structural model. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 20, 257-274.
29.
FullanM. (2010). All systems go: The change imperative for whole system reform. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
30.
GehlbachH. (2010). The social side of school: Why teachers need social psychology. Educational Psychology Review, 22, 349-362.
31.
GroysbergB.SlindM. (2012). Leadership is conversation. Harvard Business Review, 90(6), 76-84.
32.
HarrisA. (2011). System improvement through collective capacity building. Journal of Educational Administration, 49, 624-636.
33.
JangH.ReeveJ.DeciE. L. (2010). Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 588-600.
34.
KaplanH.AssorA. (2012). Enhancing autonomy-supportive I–Thou dialogue in schools: Conceptualization and socio-emotional effects of an intervention program. Social Psychology of Education, 15, 251-269.
35.
KingB. M.BouchardK. (2011). The capacity to build organizational capacity in schools. Journal of Educational Administration, 49, 653-669.
36.
KoestnerR.RyanR. M.BernieriF.HoltK. (1984). Setting limits on children’s behavior: The differential effects of controlling vs. informational styles on intrinsic motivation and creativity. Journal of Personality, 52, 233-248.
LeithwoodK.PattenS.JantziD. (2010). Testing a conception of how school leadership influences student learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 46, 671-706.
LowenhauptR. J. (2014). The language of leadership: Principal rhetoric in everyday practice. Journal of Educational Administration, 52, 446-468.
43.
MahoneyJ. L.LarsonR. W.EcclesJ. S. (2005). Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
44.
MoolenaarN. M.DalyA. J. (2012). Social networks in education: Exploring the social side of the reform equation. American Journal of Education, 119, 1-6.
45.
NewmannF. M.KingM. B.YoungsP. (2000). Professional development that addresses school capacity: Lessons from urban elementary schools. American Journal of Education, 108, 259-299.
46.
NiemiecC.RyanR. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 133-144.
47.
NorthouseP. G. (2004). Leadership: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
48.
PellegrinaJ. W.HiltonM. L. (Eds.). (2012). Education for life and work: Developing transferable knowledge and skills in the 21st century (National Research Council Committee on Defining Deeper Learning and 21st Century Skills). Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
49.
ReeveJ. (2002). Self-determination theory applied to educational settings. In DeciE.RyanR. (Eds.). Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 183-204). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
50.
ReeveJ. (2006). Teachers as facilitators: What autonomy-supportive teachers do and why their students benefit. Elementary School Journal, 106, 225-238.
51.
ReeveJ.HalusicM. (2009). How K-12 teachers can put self-determination theory principles into practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 145-154.
52.
ReeveJ.JangH. (2006). What teachers say and do to support students’ autonomy during a learning activity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 209-218.
53.
ReeveJ.JangH.CarrellD.JeonS.BarchJ. (2004). Enhancing students’ engagement by increasing teachers’ autonomy support. Motivation and Emotion, 28, 147-169.
54.
ReeveJ.JangH.HardreP.OmuraM. (2002). Providing a rationale in an autonomy-supportive way as a strategy to motivate others during an uninteresting activity. Motivation and Emotion, 26, 183-207.
55.
ReeveJ.RyanR.DeciE. L.JangH. (2008). Understanding and promoting autonomous self-regulation: A self-determination theory perspective. In SchunkD. H.ZimmermanB. J. (Eds.), Motivation and self-regulated learning: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 223-244). New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum.
56.
Robertson-KraftC.DuckworthA. L. (2014). True grit: Trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals predicts effectiveness and retention among novice teachers. Teachers College Record, 116(3). Retrieved from https://www.tcrecord.org/library/Abstract.asp?ContentId=17352
57.
RobinsonK. (2015). Creative schools: The grassroots revolution that’s transforming education. New York, NY: Viking.
58.
RobinsonV. J.LloydC. A.RoweK. J. (2008). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44, 635-674.
59.
RojasP. J.ReserJ. A.UsherE. L.TolandM. D. (2012). Psychometric properties of the Academic Grit Scale. Lexington: University of Kentucky, P20 Motivation and Learning Lab.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.
62.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2002). Overview of self-determination theory: An organismic dialectical perspective. In DeciE.RyanR. (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination theory research (pp. 3-36). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
63.
RyanR. M.WeinsteinN. (2009). Undermining quality teaching and learning: A self-determination theory perspective on high-stakes testing. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 224-233.
64.
SharratL.FullanM. (2009). Realization: The change imperative for deepening district wide reform. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
65.
SoenensB.VansteenkisteM. (2005). Antecedents and outcomes of self-determination in three life domains: The role of parents’ and teachers’ autonomy support. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34, 589-604.
ToughP. (2012). How children succeed: Grit, curiosity, and the hidden power of character. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
68.
TsaiY. M.KunterM.LüdtkeO.TrautweinU.RyanR. M. (2008). What makes lessons interesting? The role of situational and individual factors in three school subjects. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 460-472.
69.
VallerandR. J.FortierM. S.GuayF. (1997). Self-determination and persistence in a real-life setting: Toward a motivational model of high school dropout. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1161-1176.
70.
Von CulinK. R.TsukayamaE.DuckworthA. L. (2014). Unpacking grit: Motivational correlates of perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Positive Psychology, 9, 306-312.
71.
WagnerT.DintersmithT. (2015). Most likely to succeed: Preparing our kids for the innovation era. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
72.
WahlstromK. L.LouisS. K. (2008). How teachers experience principal leadership: The roles of professional community, trust, efficacy, and shared responsibility. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44, 458-495.
73.
WaltonG. M.DweckC. S. (2009). Solving social problems like a psychologist. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 101-102.
74.
WarnerR. M. (2008). Applied statistics: From bivariate through multivariate techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
75.
WilsonT. D. (2006). The power of social psychological interventions. Science, 313, 1251-1252.
76.
YeagerD. S.WaltonG. M. (2011). Social-psychological interventions in education: They’re not magic. Review of Educational Research, 81, 267-301.
77.
ZhaoY. (2015). Paradigm shift: Educating creative and entrepreneurial students. In BellancaJ. A. (Ed.), Deeper learning: Beyond 21st century skills (pp. 83-110). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
